If You're Not Out Selling, You're Being Outsold
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If You're Not Out Selling, You're Being Outsold
272Hardcover
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Overview
"If You're Not Out Selling, You're Being Outsold is an inspiringbook written by two professionals who actually do sell. I found theprinciples and techniques easy to follow and implement. I am buyingcopies of this book for all my sales managers."—Robert CoakleyDivisional Director of Sales, Alamo Rent A Car, Inc.
No matter what sort of business professional you are, you have tosell to succeed: make yourself heard, make your ideas known,convince others to act on them. No matter what you're selling, youneed confidence, energy, and, above all, a positive attitude. IfYou're Not Out Selling, You're Being Outsold shows you how toenergize your outlook, sell your ideas, produce top-quality work,and make others want to do business with you. This no-nonsenseguide:
* Introduces OUTSELL, seven fundamental steps that will make yourcareer take off
* Shows you how to develop and reach your goals
* Offers insights from hundreds of the world's top businessprofessionals
* Teaches you how to sell your ideas and get results
* Helps you build enthusiasm, energy, a positive outlook, andconfidence
* Concentrates on the skills and abilities you really need tosucceed
Find the highest achievers in any industry and you'll find a legionof winners who know how to OUTSELL—whose drive, confidence, andpersuasiveness power them to the top and keep them there. To jointhis exclusive club, you don't need an Ivy League education or analphabet soup after your name, but you do need to understand thebasic principles, absorb the positive attitudes, and learn thefundamental skills you will find in this book.
If You're Not Out Selling, You're Being Outsold is your roadmap tothe impact zone—that high-reward arena where ideas arecommunicated with power, accepted, and acted upon. Top salesprofessionals Michael St. Lawrence and Steve Johnson give you acrash course in OUTSELL, the seven business principles that willhelp you become stronger, more disciplined, more persuasive, and amagnet for opportunity. By following these principles, gleaned fromface-to-face interviews with hundreds of world-class outsellers,you'll learn to:
* Sell your ideas and get results
* Make others want to do business with you
* Identify the practical skills you need and acquire them quickly
* Develop a take-charge-now outlook.
This book is for people who want to live competition and breathesuccess—now! No matter what you're selling—products, services,ideas, yourself—what you learn here will start producing resultsimmediately. And by applying these lessons every day, you'llachieve a lasting success that can only improve over time.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780471191193 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Wiley |
| Publication date: | 10/28/1997 |
| Pages: | 272 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.26(w) x 9.51(h) x 0.96(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
If You're Not Out Selling, You're Being Outsold
Michael St. Lawrence, Steve Johnson
ISBN: 0-471-19119-1
Chapter One
Being Outsold GET READY TO OUTSELL
Although our book has a sales title, it's not your typical book on selling or how to get ahead. This book is for the professional, whether in sales or not, who has to sell ideas and convince people to take action. This book is for the person who knows that the business environment is competitive and that getting ahead means being successful, not just being able to talk about it. We offer no scripts and nothing to memorize, no lengthy forms to fill out, and no analytical data puzzles to wade through. The old wizards of sales have beaten that stuff to death. You don't need any more formulas and prefabricated responses or cute little phrases to plug in at perfectly timed moments in the conversation. You don't need personality-type analysis quadrants to put people into (amiable, analyzer, etc.), because people are unique individuals and should be treated that way. We won't insult your intelligence, so we don't have manipulative language techniques or any "copy me and you'll see" approaches. All of that stuff is insincere and violates our belief that people, including customers and colleagues, should always be treated in a genuine, caring fashion. Last, this is not a watered-down, sanitized book writ-ten by a roomful of consultants, dry researchers, and politically correct "languagizers" who have run everything by the corporate attorney. No, we tell it like it is because we've sold for a living for many years. We have had the good fortune to interview, work with, and teach seminars with thousands of top-performing business professionals who know how to sell ideas and get results. We think it is a shame that so many books are stripped of all firepower, controversy, and corporate liability and end up being 250 pages of intellectually penetrating sleeping pills. Our book will not put you to sleep, we promise! The following story sums up our feelings about many of the business theories being published today:
Deep in the rain forest, a group of explorers came upon a village of natives. In a desperate attempt to win them over (after all, their lives depended on it!), the leader began telling the natives what it was like in the civilized world. "Out there," he said, "we love all the people in our villages."
To this, the natives in unison gave a ringing cry of "Huzzonga!"
Encouraged by this, the explorer continued. "Where we come from there is great opportunity for all!"
"Huzzonga!"
"We are peaceful!" said the explorer.
"Huzzonga!" screamed the natives.
With a tear running down his cheek, the explorer ended his fine speech with "We come to you as friends, as brothers. So trust us. Open your arms to us, your homes, your hearts! What do you say?"
The air shook with one final mighty "Huzzonga!"
Overwhelmed, the leader of the explorers then began talking with the natives' chief. The chief suggested a tour of the village and asked the explorer what he would like to see. The explorer replied, "I see that you have a unique species of cattle here with which I am unfamiliar. I have never seen bulls so big and strong. May I inspect them?"
"Certainly, come with me," said the chief. "But be careful as you walk not to step in the huzzonga."
You'll find a lot of huzzonga out there, but not here. If You're Not Out Selling, You're Being Outsold is not going to give you the eternal "secret" of how to make it easier or fasterùbecause there isn't one. "Secrets" sell and they're fun to read, but the bottom line is that people looking for an easier way are secret junkies, and they usually end up shipwrecked on a deserted island at some point or another. Alot of this "attractive" advice is being generated by people who have not had to make that advice work in the real world, but we have. We know which ideas look great on paper, are inspiring, and should work but turn out to be a lot of huzzongaù interesting huzzonga to be sure, but huzzonga nevertheless. Huzzonga ends up wasting our time, sidetracking us, and creating false hopes and expectations. This book is going to cut through all the huzzonga for you. You will not find a quick fix here, because we know from experience that quick fixes don't work. You also will not find any buzzwords or corporate lines of b.s. designed primarily to get the attention of influential Fortune 500 CEOs. This is a book for you if you want the truth about what it takes to reach a higher level of business performance, a level that will put you into the impact zone, the high reward arena where ideas are communicated with power, are accepted, and are acted upon! We are top-performing sales professionals who sell and teach selling in the real world. We will show you how to get there in this book.
Many of you in sales have probably read books on professional selling written by the new army of so-called experts. These books will lull you down the road of inactivity and convince you that your success depends on your ability to analyze, plan, and dissect data; that you will finally hit the big numbers if you'll just fill in the blanks to this preprinted 65-page data analyzer and strategic plan maker for each of your accounts; that all you have to do is load all those 60 million to-do's into your computer database and you won't even have to workùit all just gets done for you! Huzzonga! Hey, we know that planning and studying your accounts is important, especially in large, complex deals, but you don't get invited to those parties until you have mastered the OUTSELL factors. The OUT-SELL factors will put you in a position to get in the game. Are you ready?
Who This Book Is For
Are you an ambitious business professional who desires to be a higher-impact player in this topsy-turvy business world? If so, we wrote this book for you! It all starts with you. If you are convinced that what's inside of you is the ticket to a better lifestyle, more courage, more confidence, and more rewarding relationships, then read on. If you know that only a fraction of your potential has reached the surface, then you're going to love this book. If you believe deep down that your ideas could make this world a better place, if only someone would listen, then buckle your seat belt because we're going to give you an exciting ride. This book is for you if you are certain that your future will be more exciting, fun, interesting, and worthwhile if you could just motivate the world to take action on your ideas. If that's you, then congratulations, you're ready to OUTSELL!
What Does Outselling Mean?
Outselling means using the seven principles of the acronym OUTSELL. Right now, as you read this book, you are performing at the level that your core principles, disciplines, and beliefs allow you to. The principles you have bought into over the years have had a tremendous impact on where you are. Your beliefs shape the way you think and react and have everything to do with the results you get and the way you feel. We'll show you how to go further. When you adopt the OUTSELL principles, you will become stronger, more self-disciplined, and more capable of selling your ideas and persuading people to take action on what you believe in. More opportunities will start flowing your way, and you will find yourself on the road to the impact zone, a place where you can make things happenù faster and with less fuss. OUTSELL stands for
One life, one boss: Developing a take-charge-now outlook.
Under construction: What skills and abilities you must have today.
Tell it with gusto: How to communicate to sell ideas and get results.
Signed, sealed, delivered: How to produce quality and really con-tribute.
Eat breakfast with champions: The best way to network.
Life's hard; hunker down and reach higher ground: Developing more persistence.
Live, thrive, and come alive in the impact zone: Finding the more powerful you. Wisdom is knowledge about certain principles and causes.
ùAristotle
Who Needs to OUTSELL?
As a business professional, you can make your life better if you adopt the OUTSELL principles. You probably have some great ideas, but if no one listens to you or you can't assemble a team to take action on them, you are severely restricted. Whether or not you're in sales, if you're not convincing, you're going to be stuck eating the leftovers while the persuaders are busy feasting on the main course. If you want to be persuasive and convincing, if you want people to act on your ideas, if you want lasting career security, you need the OUTSELL principles.
These days, you must come up with ideas continuously (e.g., how to improve something for your company, your customer) and be persuasive at motivating others to take action. If you're not, then we guarantee you're not flourishing in this rock 'em, sock 'em business economy. These days, if you're not out selling, you're being outsold. Even worse, you're not having much fun.
Maybe you don't think you're in sales and don't even like the word sales. Maybe the following story suggests the way you feel about sales-people and sales:
A snake and a bunny rabbit were going through the forest and they ran into each other. The snake turned to the bunny and said, "Who are you?" and the bunny replied, "Well, who are you?"
The snake innocently replied, "I am blind and I don't know who or what I am."
The bunny, surprised by what he has heard, said, "I am blind and I don't know who or what I am either."
The snake, thinking the situation over carefully, made an offer, "Let's make a deal. I will touch you and let you know what you are if you do the same for me." The bunny agreed, so the snake reached over and said, "You are furry and cuddly with floppy ears. I know what you are. You are a bunny rabbit."
The bunny was overjoyed and jumped up and down. Next, the bunny reached over and grabbed the snake and said, "You are slithery with beady eyes and sharp fangs. I know what you are. You're a salesperson."
You may not see yourself as being in sales (and you may not be on a commission-based income either), but don't you still need to sell yourself every day in order to be successful? Don't you need to convince people to take action on your ideas? Don't you go to meetings where your input is (or should be) critical? Couldn't you improve the way your department, organization, or company works by being able to persuade the right people to take action on your suggestions? Couldn't you get ahead faster if you were more convincing? We think you could and we'll show you how.
The Business Environment Is Being Transformed
This we know: It's a knowledge economy, and our work world is chaotic, messy, hard to read, and harder still to predict. Our work relies on relationships and things like trust, credibility, and value. Virtually all business professionals spend a significant amount of their time explaining, thinking, problem solving, attending meetings, and suggesting ideas. Business experts say we are heading toward a work world where we, the people who want the good things in life, are probably not making products any- more. Instead, we spend more and more time coming up with ideas and convincing other people to help us get those ideas done. Products may eventually come from our ideas, but the work we do and how we spend our time is increasingly conceptual, more and more an exchange of ideas. The OUTSELL principles outlined in this book are custom-made for a business environment driven by trends such as these:
Corporate flattening: Fewer layers of management and more power lower in the ranks.
Manufacturing to service economy: Even manufacturing folks do service work when you get right down to it.
Knowledge and information age: We have more access to information and need to turn it into productive ideas and improvements.
Rapid pace of changeùno that's not itùfrightening pace of change: We need flexibility to adapt.
Eat-or-be-eaten competitive environment: Job security is gone. Business is too competitive to carry deadweight anymore.
Value-added, value-added, value-added: What have you done (improved) for me lately?
Increased pressure to avoid obsolescence: Experience isn't enough anymore to gain an advantage. It needs to be combined with technological capability.
Superspeed product cycle time: We have to make decisions faster and take more risks. We must stick our necks out more if we want to succeed. Your success depends on your ability to sell yourself and your ideas. The opportunity is tremendous. All of this chaos and transformation has set the stage for those who use the OUTSELL principles to emerge as winners.
NOW IS THE TIME, THIS IS THE PLACE, AND YOU ARE THE PERSON!
For a moment, consider how lucky we really are! If you had your choice of living at anytime in history where personal freedom, liberty, and opportunity were at their highest level, where and when would you choose? We know what we would chooseùit's right here, right now! When the cosmic forces put this whole thing together and whirled us into the game, we got lucky and drew a great hand. Five hundred years ago, if your family wasn't among the "chosen few," you could forget it. Through all of human history, the access to education, information, and capital has been guarded by those lucky enough to have been born into it.
Today, it's a different world where we all sit. At this moment, there are people who are risking their lives on rickety boats and clawing for a chance, for the opportunities we already have. If you are living in a place where this book is available, then you are sitting on top of a supernova of opportunity. It's exploding all around you. Successful people are emerging faster than ever before. Great ideas with courageous people behind them have more possibilities and potential to grow faster now than ever before. There's more money and financing, more education, more cheap technology, more ways to market, more communicationùthere's more every-thing! But you've got to be willing to see the opportunity that's there.
The "System" Is Thriving!
What attitude have you bought into about the "system"? Do you think your government is broken, that the system is falling apart and will ruin your retirement, that your company is forcing you to live an uninspired workday, that it's just too hard to get ahead? If so, you bought the wrong plan, you were outsold by yourself, and you bought some crummy advice. The first sale we all have to make is to ourselves. When you can wake up in the morning, be grateful for the opportunity to compete in the lushest business environment in the history of the world with more freedom, more possibilities, and more access to the playmakers than ever before, then you're out-selling the unlucky few, who would like to blame their lack of chutzpah on the government's poorly thought-out economic policy. What a time to be alive! You may have heard the story of Harry and Larry:
Harry and Larry are twin brothers. Harry is a pessimist and Larry is an optimist. On the twins' birthday, their father bought Harry a bike, a basketball, and a rifleùeverything to make him happy. For Larry, he bought a pile of manure.
Upon opening his gifts, Harry said, "If I ride this bike, I might get hit by a car. If I take my basketball outside, someone might steal it. This rifle is dangerous. I will probably shoot someone's window out." He worried about the terrible predicament these gifts had put him in and turned his birthday to gloom and doom.
When Larry saw the pile of manure his dad had gotten for him, he jumped for joy. Immediately, he began to look through all the rooms in the house. His dad caught him by the arm and asked, "Son, what are you looking for?"
Larry replied, "Dad, with all the horse manure you gave me, there's gotta be a pony around here some place!"
If you think the system stinks, is crooked, and is rigged against you, then you're not going to like what lies ahead. If you are convinced that you cannot make it, that the days of opportunity are gone, and that the economy is sliding and eroding away, then find another book, because we believe that the opportunity for us to succeed is greater today than ever before.
The OUTSELL Experts
You will be hearing from some special people in this book. They are people we have met over the years who are top performers in their fields. We specifically did not interview any stars or celebrities because there is enough advice from those folks already. If you are looking for unique thinking that is intriguing but virtually impossible to replicate, then their advice is for you. Instead, we looked for the kind of people we admire and look up to as role models. We have professionals, managers, and plenty of top-performing salespeople, all of whom are very persuasive and have a history of producing consistently outstanding results. We wanted to share the wisdom of some of the finest people we have met out of the thousands we have had the luck to come in contact with over the years. These people have earned their way through their tenacity, persistence, ability to persuade and convince, and their unique ability to produce that rare quality of self-motivation. We purposefully have not included their company names because we wanted them to feel free to tell the truth with no need to run it by any corporate overseers.
Did You Buy the Right Outlook?
Over time, we all acquire an outlook, one that perhaps gets us the results we want or maybe it doesn't, but one thing is for sure: our outlook has a lot to do with the results we get and the way we experience the events of our lives. Consider the man in this story:
There was once a man who did not have any formal business training in ac-counting, engineering, law, or medicine, so he did what most people do in those circumstancesùhe went into sales. He opened a little stand on a corner and yelled out, "Hot Dog!" Believe it or not, his business started to grow. So he got a bigger griddle, put up a sign that said, "Hot Dog," did some advertising, and his business boomed so much that he was able to put his oldest boy through college.
When his oldest boy came back with a degree in marketing and obviously knew everything there was to know about how to run a business, he looked at his father's business and told his dad there was a recession going on and that he had better change the way he did business, reengineer, and cut back. The dad, certain that his son knew it all, cut out his advertising. Then he took down his "Hot Dog" sign, reduced the size of his griddle, and even stopped yelling "Hot Dog." He went home one day very dejected and his son asked, "What is the matter, Dad?"
The father, sad and dejected said, "You're right son, there is a recession going on out there, and it hit my business awfully hard."
What happened to the hot dog vendor can happen to each of us if we let it. We can become overly reactive to what we hear and see going on around us and stop putting out proactive energy. We first believe the negativity around us and then we start creating negative results that reinforce it. We buy the attitude first and take delivery of the product later. It's so easy to let sneaky little attitude dimmers drift into us. You have to sell and resell your-self every day on principles, attitudes, and beliefs that work and oust the crud that builds up when you're not paying attention. Keeping the gunk out is a never-ending commitment. You can plant a garden with the finest seeds and soil in the world, but weeds will get in there, bugs will start eating, and weather will take its course if you don't put in a little effort each week. The OUTSELL mentality is for you if you can stop thinking about what should have happened or the "it's impossible to make it anymore" attitude that so many people have bought into. They were outsold. They bought the wrong approach. Maybe a psychologist out there has the answer why, but the main thing for those of us who want to realize our ambition is to abandon any beliefs that even hint that we can't achieve the level of influence, impact, and personal power we want. It boils down to our outlook.
Viktor Frankl lived in a Nazi concentration camp and survived to tell about it. He looked back on those years as a valuable contribution to his personal transformation. His ability to learn and grow, even in the most extreme circumstances imaginable, shows how the right outlook can transform the way we experience life. He talks in the following passage from his inspiring book, Man's Search for Meaning, about the remarkable attitudes of people he remembered from the concentration camp: "We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of his freedomsùto choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
It All Starts with You
By now, you know where we believe all sales start. Whether you're selling yourself, a new idea you've come up with, or a new product to a potential customer, it all starts with you and the principles you sell yourself. You must begin by selling yourself the right attitude. To get and to keep the right attitude, imagine the person you want to become. Forget about possessions and all the material things that come with the picture for a minuteùjust visualize who you've always wanted to be. Make a commitment to answer these questions sincerely:
What level of confidence do I want to have?
What level of influence do I want to possess?
How persuasive do I want to be?
How much personal power and proactive energy do I want to have?
What kind of body do I really want to live in?
What type of a communicator do I really want to be?
What is the quality of the relationships I want to be in?
What am I contributing to others, to the world around me, to myself?
When you have a clear image of the person you want to become, you can sell yourself on becoming that person. You can do it! You can become the person you've always wanted to be if you can make the first sale right now. Sell yourself. Take delivery of the new you. When you can feel it, then you will be energized.
When you have this energy, when you can see who you want to be-come, you're ready to OUTSELL.
Table of Contents
If You're Not Out Selling, You're Being Outsold.One Life, One Boss.
Under Construction.
Tell It with Gusto.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered.
Eat Breakfast with Champions.
Life's Hard;
Hunker Down and Reach Higher Ground.
Live, Thrive, and Come Alive in the Impact Zone.
Index.